Fateful April
by lilyevans12681998
Summary: Life is wonderful in its own mundane way, not least because the Snapes are expecting their third child and Severus is preparing to retire into familial bliss. Everything seems so right until an old, unexpected danger threatens to make everything so wrong. Having read Fixing a Family is recommended but not required! Three-part story.
1. Chapter 1

**This story is set in the Fixing a Family (FaF) universe and takes place before FaF begins. The focus is not so much on plot as it is on the in-betweens filling in some little gaps, since most of you should already have a vague idea of what happens. I'm fairly sure it still makes sense without FaF (maybe just extremely AU?), only you'll have less "aha" and "oh, I remember that!" moments ;)**

* * *

 _April 2012._

Sliding out of bed to walk over to the window, Hermione pulled open the curtains and beamed as sunlight flooded into the room. Severus groaned loudly, not even having to open his eyes to know what she'd just done.

"Woman, it's not even seven-o-clock yet!"

"If I had my way, the curtains would _always_ be open. What's better than _morning_ shining through?"

"Come back here."

She did so, snuggling under the warm covers she'd just left behind. He slung an arm around her, cautiously opening an eye and wincing at the brightness. "What's better? Not killing my eyes."

Hermione smiled, placing a sweet peck on the cheek of her grumpy old man.

"How's Roman?" He lifted up the covers to peer at her small hint of a bump.

"For the last time, we are not naming him Roman! My child will not be an _adjective._ You might as well call him Italian while you're at it." She pulled the blanket back up and wrapped herself around it. "And no more pulling up the covers; it's cold."

"Roman is a good masculine name," he argued. "Besides, naming him Roman doesn't guarantee that we'll end up calling him that."

She laughed, snuggling closer into his chest. "Even you have to admit, no matter how beautiful _Sydney John_ sounded in theory, it was too much of a mouthful in practice."

"But your choice… Julien with an e? Need I remind you that we live in Germany, not France?"

"Can't be helped. The hero of that Faulks book was French after all. I've loved that name ever since. I don't even like Julian with an a despite the fact that it sounds exactly the same as Julien with an e."

Severus coughed just then, and Hermione thought at first that he was mocking her. Only when he didn't stop after the first sound did she gaze up worriedly. "You alright?"

"Fine," he said, clearing his throat. "My neck and throat have just been itchy lately. Sometimes I want to do nothing but claw at it—inside and out—but that won't do."

"Have you taken a soother?" She had sat up and gazed at him intently, all humor forgotten.

"Yes, but it didn't do anything. Stop worrying."

* * *

Due to their early start, Hermione and Severus were still the only two up by the time they'd gotten dressed and toddled downstairs for breakfast. It wasn't to last, as the commotion of pots and pans woke Bryan up, who came down with his nearly four-year-old brother.

"Long day ahead," Severus said when they were all sitting at the table. "For me, at least. Minerva doesn't trust my successor to have the shelves stocked, so I'll be meeting with one of my contacts to see if I can extend our deal for at least another year."

"I still can't believe that you're leaving Hogwarts," Hermione remarked.

"It was a long time coming."

Though they'd lived in Germany for over ten years now, Severus had managed to still make teaching at Hogwarts work out. That did mean that he spent minimal time in the castle, only making his presence known during class periods and staff meetings. His quarters were merely used for short breaks in between classes now. He had long ago convinced Minerva to find someone else to serve as Slytherin's head of house, wanting to keep his own time free to spend with his family.

When Hermione had discovered that she was pregnant again just four months ago, Severus had gleefully handed in his notice without a second thought.

Maybe part of it was a heat-of-the-moment decision from the absolute joy he had felt after going through months—no, years—of disappointment from Hermione glumly informing him that she hadn't conceived yet again, but he knew that it was beyond time to leave. Whenever he was in the castle, his mind was always on his family and the clock, wondering when he could reunite with them for the day.

"I'm looking forward to the free childcare," she said, winking. As they were doing their best to keep the existence of their children a secret from the nosy papers, Severus could hardly bring them to his classes where his students could see. Hermione, with her cosy muggle bookshop, didn't have the same problem. She'd gotten quite adept at watching her boys out of the corner of her eye, and her job was made much easier when Bryan started primary school last fall.

"Dad?"

"Yes, Bryan?"

"Can I go with you?"

" _May_ I go with you," he corrected. "And you'll be bored out of your mind. Business talks are no fun for a seven-year-old."

"Seven is big!" Johnny interjected. Beside him, Bryan sat up just a little bit straighter at his brother's padding. "Seven is—" he stared at his fingers, and they could all see the gears turning in his little head— "four bigger than three! I'm three." As if to emphasize his point, Johnny held up first his thumb, then his index finger, and finally his middle finger. "Three."

"That's my precocious boy," Hermione cooed.

Severus looked on proudly. "As I was saying, Bryan, I doubt it'll be as fun as you are likely imagining."

"You can make it fun," Hermione said suddenly.

"What?"

"Get your business done, but then take him somewhere you know he will enjoy. He's had a long week."

"He has?"

"As long as a seven-year-old's week always is," she said in a hushed tone so her son wouldn't hear. "Right, Bryan? You're ready for some one-on-one time with Daddy?"

Bryan's eyes lit up. Mum was the best; she _always_ gave him what he wanted. Well, nearly always.

"Oh, alright," Severus allowed gruffly. "Just don't come crying to me when you'd rather be at home playing with your trains."

"I don't cry! Only babies cry!"

Severus shushed his outburst with a glare. Hermione giggled to herself. Her husband turned his eyes onto her and couldn't help the slight upturning of his lips. "And I suppose you have me to thank for taking the little troublemaker out of your hair for the day? Is it not enough that you're mostly free of him on the weekdays?"

"Bryan is never any trouble." It shocked her that she could say so with a straight face.

Across from her, Johnny frowned. "Mummy, you lie. Bryan _is_ trouble."

Severus snorted. "And don't we all know. Tell me, what has he done to you this week?"

"He hit me with train!" A vindicated smile crossed Johnny's face while Bryan shrunk lower into his seat.

"With _a_ train or _his_ train. Stop forgetting your articles."

Hermione shook her head with amusement. "He's three, Severus. He doesn't have to speak perfectly yet, and he's already a very eloquent child for his age." Turning to face her firstborn, she trained him with a stern look. "Bryan! Didn't I tell you just last week not to hit your brother with things? Your trains are worse than pillows!"

Her eldest shrugged, not quite apologetically.

"Sooner or later you're going to get what's coming to you when Johnny's big enough," Severus laughed.

"Don't forget about him," she murmured, pointing at her belly. "He'll be dishing it out to both his siblings when he's older," Hermione laughed. "My third little man will be the strongest ever with two older brothers roughhousing him." Her eyes positively shone at the thought of having not two but three children.

"They'll run you ragged, and you're happy about that?"

"Just as happy as I know you are," she quipped sweetly.

They finished up their breakfast, with Hermione noticing multiple times Severus unconsciously putting his hand to his neck.

* * *

"Dad! Dad! Can we go there?" Bryan pointed at the toy store.

"At least it isn't a Quidditch shop," Severus muttered to himself. "Not now, Bryan. I told you, we have to meet an associate of mine first. After that, if you're good, I might take you." He may as well have been speaking to himself; he'd chosen to disillusion his son in order to protect him from outside eyes. He attracted enough attention on his own—it was a miracle that a combination of living abroad and not having many friends kept the wider public unaware of his family and children.

"What's an associate?"

"A contact."

"What's that?"

"A man from whom I buy potion supplies."

That was simple enough for Bryan to understand. Strolling purposefully beside his father, they made their way into a café.

"No one can see you, but you are to sit next to me all the same, alright? I'll just be having a conversation with that man there, in the dark blue robe. Come along."

Bryan went, feeling more than a little cheated. What sort of day out was this if he was to just sit and do nothing? As his father and the man began talking, he sighed loudly. He felt a hand surreptitiously nudge him under the table, a combination of a warning and a reassurance. After a few minutes, when it appeared the two were deeply engrossed in their negotiations, Bryan slipped under the table and made his way out of the café, delighting in the fresh air. Now where was that window with the trains again?

* * *

Hermione had just turned on the faucet to wash her hands when she heard shuffling outside the bathroom door, followed by a loud banging.

"Mummy, it's me!"

"I know!" she called back. _Never a moment's peace, especially when using the toilet._

"Your son!"

 _Knew that too,_ she thought before drying her hands and opening the door gently so that it wouldn't hit him. Upon seeing her, Johnny beamed and scampered off again. She watched as he ran away and climbed in and out of a large cardboard box they'd left out in the living room. He'd been at it for a couple days now. _You give them toys, and in the end they prefer the old storage bins,_ she and Severus had laughed.

Finally, after minutes of idle thought, she decided to make her presence known. "You alright there, buddy? You don't want to maybe draw a house or a car design on the box?" She was ignored, but Hermione couldn't tell whether that was because he was so focused or because he was choosing to be impertinent. She walked over closer, and he gave her a toothy grin. "Mummy, up."

"I know you're only asking because Daddy isn't here. Cheeky boy." Severus thought three was too old to pick up, but she was well aware that he still did it when he thought no one was looking. Opening up her arms, she hoisted him up and rested him just to the right of baby three. "Did you enjoy your thousandth hour in the plain old box?"

"Yeah! Mummy, I hungry." Except the _yeah_ sounded more like _ya,_ owing to the German _ja._ Bryan might've been just the slightest bit behind in language when he started at the muggle _Grundschule_ , but she was confident that she'd be on track with Johnny when the time came.

" _I'm,_ " she corrected gently. "You were saying it properly just this morning."

"Hungry!"

"Und auf deutsch, bitte?"

He glowered at her but complied. "Ich habe Hunger."

"Don't make that face, dear. You'll thank me later." She brushed his fringe to the side. "We just had breakfast not too long ago. You're not hungry, you're bored."

"Snack?"

His large eyes were so hopeful that Hermione had to laugh. Pressing a kiss to his forehead, she relented and carried him over to the fridge. "I suppose some fruits wouldn't hurt. Now, I'm not going to hold you _and_ cut this peach, so you're going to have to get down."

Peach and knife in hand, she began cutting the fruit into slices.

"The house really is much quieter without Bryan here," Hermione remarked, knowing that Johnny could somewhat understand even if he couldn't respond completely.

Her boy smirked.

"That better not be a challenge, Johnny-boy! Merlin, it's only been seven months since your brother started school, and though it's only a few hours each day, I sure feel the difference."

Big hazel eyes stared back at her.

"I hope you don't remember this when you're older and tell him, but it's _so_ less stressful watching over you while I'm working in the bookshop than watching him. I hope the little guy is like you in that aspect. I can't wait to see you as a big brother!"

She set the plate down in front of him. He seemed to be looking around.

"Daddy not here?"

"You know where Daddy is. He and Bryan went off on some business, remember?" Thoughts of Severus had Hermione worrying over his bothersome neck. He had coughed one too many times, and it seemed to really bother him. And the lozenges didn't work? That was unsettling.

Her fretting had Hermione realizing that she was actually a bit hungry herself, having not had enough to eat that morning as a result of her casual observations of her husband. Rising from her seat, she shuffled through the fridge until she found some leftover chicken that she could reheat.

"Mummy not hungry, Mummy only bored."

"Very funny, mister." She poked his nose and he laughed. Only then did she become aware of the fact that he was holding her wand. "When did you snatch this? I'll take it back, thank you very much. Eat your peaches."

Mind still occupied, she set the wand down on the nearest surface she could find away from Johnny before turning on the stove and placing the chicken in a pan. What could be the cause of Severus's discomfort? Her first thought was Nagini, but that was eons ago and the healers had pronounced it a miracle. Surely he was free of that. Had he eaten something off or inhaled a harmful fume from his class?

"Mummy, Mummy!"

"What do you want now?"

"Fire!"

"What?" She followed Johnny's eyes and looked behind her, spotting her wand in flames atop the stove. "Merlin's pants!" Why had she turned her back to the cooktop in the first place? As her wand was the thing itself burning, she could hardly cast _Aguamenti._ In her haste, her first reaction was not to attempt a wandless spell but to fling open a cupboard and grab a bowl, fill it with water, and dump it over her flaming wand. It sizzled loudly before going out in a gray smoke. Johnny clapped. She ran a hand through her hair, feeling more than a little overwhelmed.

"Yes, Mummy's very impressive, isn't she? Now Mummy's just going to see how badly she destroyed her wand."

It was charred and disfigured on the bottom, but tests of _accio, scourgify,_ and _tergeo,_ all worked perfectly fine. She shrugged to herself. At least there was that.

* * *

"Do we have a deal?"

"Two more years, Snape. After that it's up to whatever your successor can wrangle out of me. Why were you leaving again? Early retirement?"

"Something like that, yes."

While the two weren't close, they did cross paths semi-often. He was surprised with how quickly the other had acquiesced to the two-year deal. They'd been in the café for hardly ten minutes. Reaching to his right for his boy, he felt beads of cold sweat when his hand landed on nothingness.

"Are you alright?"

"Perfectly fine," he managed to say even as his dread filled his heart, "I just remembered another commitment I had. If you'll excuse me." He rose out of his seat as slowly as deemed socially appropriate even though he wanted to sprint out of there. Why had he disillusioned the damn boy again? That would make him even harder to find, not to mention he couldn't go around asking with descriptions of him if no one had seen him.

Checking that Bryan wasn't just lurking somewhere in the café, he cast a discreet _homenum revelio_ and confirmed with dismay that his seven-year-old was no longer in the same building. Horrific scenarios filled his mind as he rushed out of the café and into the streets. Kidnapped? Abducted? There were tons who still had a vendetta against him, but his and Hermione's careful efforts had ensured that few would recognize Bryan as his son. The boy knew better than to run off. He would have come back or asked, wouldn't he have? No, he thought with despair, perhaps Johnny would've asked had the boys been switched, but Bryan sure wouldn't have.

Putting a glamour on himself, he altered his appearance enough so that no one would be able to recognize him as Severus Snape, potions master and war hero. Once he was sure that his guise was safe, he began to shout, "Bryan! Bryan! BRYAN PHILIP LOUIS!" Onlookers gave him strange looks, but he ignored them. He only wished now that the boy weren't disillusioned.

An intense internal pain flared just under his jaw, but he couldn't be bothered at the moment. Still, he pinched the area with such force that it turned red, and he winced. At least now, the more intense pain was external, and he wouldn't have to stop himself from clawing at an internal spot he couldn't reach.

He strode right past the toy shop, which made him do a double take and wonder if maybe Bryan had wandered there. A quick scan and another _homenum revelio_ later had him leaving without another word as he continued his frantic search.

He could hardly get the Aurors involved—they'd go poking and prodding into his private life—and were Aurors really that much more competent than he? _You lost him,_ he thought, _you're hardly competent._ Visions of Hermione's anguish as he told her that Bryan was gone haunted him.

"You all right there?"

He didn't even look to see who had addressed him. "No, I most certainly am not! My son is missing."

The stranger jogged to keep up with him. "Oh dear! How old is he and what does he look like?"

"It's no use. I disillusioned him."

Still, the woman was relentless. "He wouldn't happen to have long blonde hair and be around six, would he?"

Severus stopped in his tracks, finally giving her the time of day. "Seven, not six. Have you seen such a child?"

"I was in Lionel's earlier and thought he seemed out of place without a parent."

"Lionel's?"

"Lionel's Trinkets. Although if that is your son, then he'll have gone a ways away. The place is all the way back there." She pointed to a spot in the distance behind them.

In his haste, he didn't even think to apparate—he simply turned around and began sprinting. It was on the other side of the café, he realized. He didn't know exactly where Lionel's was, so he stopped once to ask a passerby if they knew. Behind him, he could see that the lady was still following.

Skidding to a halt in front of the trinket shop, he almost cried when he spotted a blonde boy that most certainly wasn't Bryan. He turned around, directing his frustration at the lady. "You call that hair long? My boy's hair goes past his eyes in the front and nearly touches his shoulder in the back!"

"That wasn't the boy I saw."

"You—"

Just then, the boy-who-wasn't-Bryan moved out of the way and Severus's scathing retort disappeared when he spotted his firstborn. His relief was so palpable that he had to sit down. As the seconds ticked by and he watched Bryan interact with the shopowner, his relief turned to anger. He opened the door and glared murderously at Bryan, who clearly didn't recognize him with his glamour.

"You gave your old man quite a fright," the witch behind him said to Bryan. Why she was still here, he had no idea.

Bryan raised an eyebrow, looking between the two strangers before landing his eyes on Severus. "You're not my dad."

"Excuse us for a moment," Severus said politely. Marching over to Bryan, he grabbed the boy none too gently and dragged him into a discrete corner, trying to hush him from yelling.

"Of course I'm your dad. I'm just under a glamour. Or have you forgotten the rules about being out in public when we're not in the muggle world?" He let his glamours drop for just a moment to reassure Bryan that he wasn't being kidnapped by a stranger masquerading as his father. When he was sure that he would no longer struggle, he returned to the witch and gave her a curt nod. "I apologize for shouting at you. You were most helpful."

"You're welcome. I have no children of my own, but I would hate to lose one. Is he your only?"

As his identity was hidden, he didn't feel the need to lie. "No, he is one of two—soon three."

"Goodness, you've been busy!" When she received no response, she blushed. "Well, there's me and my mouth again. I'll just see myself out. Tell that boy of yours not to do that again."

"If he would only listen," he muttered to himself. At this moment, he wasn't sure if he wanted to hug or rattle his troublesome boy.

"I found a necklace for Mum, Dad! Come look."

"You're in trouble, young man." Still, he followed Bryan over to where the shopkeeper was hovering. "Tada!" He pointed to a heart-shaped necklace, and it was so gaudy and so un-Hermione-like that Severus guffawed.

"I thought you knew your mother better than that."

"I do know her! It's a heart because she loves me and I love her."

"It's a piece of junk," he said plainly, making sure to keep his voice low so as not to offend the owner.

"It's not junk to me!" That was a trifle too loud, but if the owner took any offense, he didn't show it. "And it won't be junk to her. She loves everything I give her."

"She cooed over the _grass_ you plucked for her when you were younger. Not even flowers."

"Can we get it, Dad? Please?"

"You seem to have forgotten how much trouble you're in."

"If she doesn't like it, we can give return it. It's not for me, anyway."

Severus looked around the shop, having a feeling that returns weren't a thing given how cheap everything was.

"Come on, Dad, it's only two galleons!"

"Well, pity you didn't bring your own gold! That's right, you don't have any." He privately expressed that two galleons was far more than he was willing to pay for some scrap metal.

"I'll pay for it when I'm older and I do have gold of my own."

"Sure you will," Severus scoffed.

"I will!"

"Why do you want this so much?"

"Because I want to give it to Mum!"

Severus sighed. Bryan always asked for things, though he rarely got them. The fact that he was asking for his mother this time was… sweet.

* * *

The moment they got home, Bryan rushed excitedly into the house in search of his mother. He found her sitting at the table with Johnny on her lap, the two of them scribbling with markers.

"Muuuuuum!"

"Welcome home, dear," Hermione laughed, looking at the excitement in Bryan's eyes. "Missed me?"

"I got you a present."

"A present? What's the occasion?"

"Not her birfday," Johnny remarked. "No cake."

"That's right, kiddo." She ruffled his brown curls. "It's not my birthday."

"No occasion. I just saw it."

"And what is _it_?"

"I have it here," Severus told her as he made his way into the room with them. "Be warned, though," he whispered to her. He handed her a small bag, which she opened.

"Oh! It's—"

"ghastly?" He'd purposely chosen a word that, while exaggerated, was likely that Bryan wouldn't understand.

"No, it's lovely! What a dear!"

Bryan beamed, giving his father a told-you-so look.

"Can you help me put it on, Bryan? Oh, I think I'll wear this every day!"

With some difficulty, the seven-year-old managed after many tries to hook the clasp on behind her neck.

"I know you better than Dad does," he whispered loudly, as if it were a big secret. Despite himself, Severus laughed.

* * *

Way after they'd put the boys to bed, Severus found Hermione back at the dining room table brooding. Her eyebrows were crinkled, and he frowned at the sight.

"What's on your mind?"

She was so deep in thought that she startled at his voice.

"Are you regretting telling Bryan that you'll wear that cheap piece of metal every day?"

"What? No! It's from Bryan, and it's the thought that counts. Now, if _you_ try to get away with that, it'll be a different story," she laughed.

"Bested by a child. And soon there'll be another for me to compete with. Ah, do I miss the days when I was number one. So, what's bothering you?"

"You."

"Me?"

"Your neck, more specifically."

The pain was mild now, but it flared up when he thought about it. "With the crazy events of today, I could register my neck hurting, but I didn't allow it to get in the way."

"What's so crazy about negotiating with an old contact and buying a necklace?"

"Oh, you're in for it. I for one am so glad that you didn't come along today. Not that you had planned to in the first place."

She automatically leaned in, waiting to hear the story. "Something I can't handle?"

"They say a parent's worst fear is losing a child. _Your_ dear son ran off and likely chopped ten years off my life expectancy."

 _"My_ son? I never did that as a child. You, though—didn't you always run off to that playground across town?" Left unsaid was that his living conditions at home were hardly ideal, and that he wasn't to blame for running off all the time.

"Anyway, I would not want you to experience what I did today. I'm going to have to put Bryan on a leash the next time he's out."

"Next I hear you'll be feeding him a bone and sticking him in a doghouse."

They both laughed.

"Your wand," he exclaimed, suddenly noticing the chars, "What in Merlin's name happened?"

"I was distracted. Left it on the stove and then proceeded to heat up some leftovers right after that. Hey, at least it still seems to work perfectly fine."

"Well, you always have that." There was a comfortable silence. "Were you distracted by my neck?"

"What else?"

"Silly witch. I'm hardly worth destroying your wand over."

"Let me see." She inched closer, gesturing for him to tilt his head.

He didn't, instead fixing his eyes on her. "Come to bed."

"What? Focus! I'm trying to make sure you're alright."

"I'm really tired after that whole ordeal Bryan put me through. You can poke and prod at me there."

"It must have been quite a fright," she said conversationally, both of them rising to make the move up. "You poor dear."

"You can make it better," he whispered silkily while they were heading up the stairs. He squeezed her backside.

"I thought someone was 'really tired.'"

"Tired of talking," he smirked at her, "not tired of poking and prodding. So what do you say?"

"Julien is judging Daddy for how often he interrupts his beauty sleep."

"No, _Roman_ is five months away from meeting the world and will have no recollection of any excessive movement."

"Excessive? Does that mean you plan to— _oomph!_ "

She went weak, grabbing onto Severus's shoulders to keep from falling over as he unexpectedly brought his lips crashing down onto hers.

"You bastard!" she shouted—even though there wasn't any real venom in her voice. "We're on the stairs! What if I'd fallen?"

"I'd have caught you."

"Smartarse."

He chuckled at her expense before scooping her up and taking them to their room.

* * *

 **Now, how many past references from FaF can y'all find? There's plenty of 'em!**

 **Also, some of y'all are worried about a sad ending? Well, without outright saying it, this story only spans a few months, and so that should tell you whether this story ends happily or not.**


	2. Chapter 2

**In which we go from 0 to 100...**

* * *

Hermione woke to the most horrific shuddering and rasping beside her.

"Severus? Severus! Are you—no, that's a horrible question—" She felt utterly helpless as he continued to convulse, his fingers clawing at his neck. There were already long, angry red scrapes. She grabbed his hands to stop him from hurting himself.

"Can you speak?"

He continued rasping, and she wasn't even sure whether he could register her presence. In a frenzy, she conjured some water and poured it over his neck, hoping that it would soothe him. It was enough to stop him from scratching and focus his eyes on her, but he still couldn't speak.

"That's it, we're going to St. Mungo's." She was aware of Severus emphatically shaking his head in the negative, but she was beyond caring. Quickly dressing both of them as well as she could, she grabbed onto him and apparated them to the one part of the hospital that she was familiar with—Spell Damage. The peaceful floor in the dead of night was greatly at odds with how panicked she was feeling. Casting a featherweight charm on him, she raced down to the ground floor, where a receptionist hardly paid any mind until she realized who the convulsing man was.

"I don't know what the problem is!" Hermione shouted before she could be asked. "Just take him, help him, save him!"

"He is the Potions Professor up at the castle, correct? Let's bring him to the third floor, Potion and Plant Poisoning."

Only when Severus was settled on a hospital bed with Healers rushing to examine him did Hermione wonder if she'd made the wrong decision. She and Severus had been the ones to treat their children and their own injuries, never needing to go to a hospital. In her panic, she had removed him from the sanctuary of their home and brought him all the way to the most well-known wizarding hospital in the world. Surely there'd be repercussions.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked, trying to understand the many diagnostic charms that were being cast.

"We can't tell yet, but there seems to be some sort of poison in his system lodged specifically in his neck area," one Healer said. "Has he been experimenting with dangerous poisons lately?"

"Not that I know of."

"Excuse me," said another Healer, "but are you family? I'm afraid we can't reveal more of his condition unless we know of an established relationship."

"I am his bloody wife!"

The first Healer blinked, looking at her more carefully. "Severus Snape is married? Odd. I thought you looked familiar. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were Hermione Granger, but no one has seen or heard from her in years. Your hair is also lighter."

"Caroline Snape," she said quickly—maybe too quickly, grasping at straws now. I don't need another person to tell me that I look like that girl. _Help my husband_!"

"Very well. We need to go and analyze these results. You might like the moment alone with him."

The moment they left, she dashed up right next to him, tenderly stroking his reddened neck.

"You shouldn't have done that," he rasped.

"You can speak again?"

"Roman… apparition… too late in the preg—"

"He's fine. You, on the other hand—"

"What time is it?"

"I have no idea." She checked. "Four."

"The boys?"

"Asleep, hopefully. I'm torn between going home and wrapping them in my arms and staying here with you."

"Go to them. I'll feel more at ease knowing they aren't all alone."

"And you?"

"I'll be home in no time."

* * *

As she had hoped, both Bryan and Johnny were sound asleep, blissfully unaware of the changes that were going to happen to their family. Try as she might, Hermione could not catch up on the sleep she had missed. Instead, her mind wandered toward all the possibilities ranging from Severus waltzing through the fireplace any moment now to him never coming home.

When daybreak finally happened, she had been downstairs in low spirits for nearly an hour. She missed his presence already, as she was used to making breakfast alongside him.

She was a bad actress, and both children could tell immediately that something wasn't right.

"Where's Daddy?"

"Daddy is—" To her absolute horror, she burst into tears. The sight of his mother so upset had Johnny's lip wobbling.

"Daddy's going to be alright," she finally answered.

Bryan looked troubled. "Is he still mad at me for running off yesterday? I said I was sorry."

"No, hun—though he's not likely to forget about that in years, he's not angry at you anymore."

"Then where is he?"

"He's… he's in hospital."

"In _the_ hospital, Mummy."

Hermione wiped at her eyes quickly, giving Johnny a smile. "No, the article is actually unnecessary in this case. _In hospital_ is correct."

"Why's he there? You always said hospitals were silly and unnecessary."

"We don't know yet. I'm sure they'll patch him up in a jiffy."

"Why couldn't you patch him up?"

She bit her lip. Why couldn't she, indeed?

* * *

She hated relying on help, but there was no other way to go. Throwing a fist of floo powder into the fireplace, she called for Malfoy Manor. It was Astoria who answered. One look at Hermione's face and she knew that something was wrong.

"Are you alright? What happened?"

"Can I come through? With the boys?"

"Of course."

She brought them through, dusting the soot of all three of them. Draco had joined them, and the three adults shared a look.

"Scorp!" Astoria called. "Why don't you show Bryan and Johnny your new dragon!"

"Has he really got a dragon now?"

"Dear Merlin, of course not. It's just charmed within an inch of its life."

When the little blonde boy whizzed in, the two other boys happily set off with him.

"What happened?" Astoria asked again. "You look horrible, which is something I shouldn't be saying to someone who's been glowing for months on account of finally having conceived again."

"There's entirely a chance that I'm blowing things way out of proportion, but… Severus is in St. Mungo's. Whatever it is, it's bad. I need to be able to ensure that the boys are looked after so I can go back to him."

"Of course. Is he…?"

"I don't know."

"And that, Granger, is why you should get a house elf," Draco said, attempting to lighten the mood. It worked—a little.

"Do you need any arrangements made? With Hogwarts, with your shop, with Bryan's school?"

"Oh, I'm not pulling him out of school for this. I don't think it's that bad."

"Alright. And your shop?"

"I'm closed every other weekend, and this was my week off. Depending on what the Healers tell me when I get back, I may have to suspend business indefinitely to look after him, if it comes to it. Or maybe he'll be home before sunset and everything will go on as normal."

"And Hogwarts?"

"I plan to floo-call Minerva as soon as I leave here and explain the situation to her. If she has to find someone to stand in for him, it won't be easy on her. At least this was his last term. As you know, there are only two months left before the summer holidays."

"Okay. I'll leave you to it, then. Please, keep us updated."

"Thanks, Astoria. And you—Draco—why do I know what you're thinking?"

"And what's that?"

"' _I told you there were benefits to not working,'"_ she mimicked in his voice. "I'll have to give it to you this time. This ordeal would be a hell of a lot easier if I didn't have to worry about sorting both of our workplaces out." She smiled tightly. "I have to go, but thanks a million. Truly."

The conversation with Minerva was much quicker, and in no time, she found herself back on the marble floors of St. Mungo's. This time, though, she gave her appearance a few subtle alterations so that while she still looked like the wife who'd frantically dropped Severus Snape off in the early hours of the morning, she looked far less like Hermione Granger.

"Madame Snape—" someone called, but she paid no heed as she sped off toward Severus's room on the third floor. As she flung open the door, her heart almost leapt out of her chest in panic when she found no one there. Was he dead already? Had former Death Eater sympathizers kidnapped him to force their own end?

"Madame Snape," the earlier voice called, sounding out of breath, "if you had just listened to me, you would've known that we transferred him to Creature-Induced Injuries on the first floor. It most certainly wasn't a potion that did that to him. If you'll follow me?"

She was led down the stairs to a new room, and it was with relief that she saw Severus there. He looked to be asleep. Hermione turned back to the Healer.

"Creature-induced injury, you say? This wouldn't happen to be—" She wasn't sure if the Healer knew Nagini by name— "the creature, it's a viper, isn't it?"

"Yes. A magically altered, one-of-a-kind viper. His medical record is completely blank after second May 1998. Did he have no reason to get a check-up? We might have discovered this earlier."

"And what, may I ask, is _this?"_

"There's no easy way to say this, Madame Snape—Caroline." Hermione started until she realized she'd supplied that false name. "Your husband is dying. We've tranquilized him, but at best he has three months left."

Hermione crumpled, but unlike yesterday, there was no one to catch her. The Healer did rush to help her off her feet, though.

" _How?_ He was absolutely fine—nearly absolutely fine… just yesterday. He complained about an itchy neck, but it didn't seem urgent at all. We even—" she cut herself off, blushing slightly.

"You even?"

"He was well enough to be, you know, erm, _engaging in activity_ with me last night. Not more than four hours later, he was convulsing and unresponsive."

"It very well may have sent him to his grave earlier. Strenuous activity, stress… anything of the like is fodder for an already vulnerable body."

Bryan's _adventure_ flashed through her mind. _He chopped ten years off my life expectancy,_ Severus had said. A hand went to her metal necklace, rubbing it unconsciously.

"I'm really sorry. I know it's a lot to take in, but three months is more warning than you would've had had you not come in today. We can talk more about the venom itself when the specialized Healer comes in later." Trying to put Hermione at ease, she smiled tentatively. "I'm Gillian, by the way. Gillian Peneven. I will do my best to be here for you these upcoming months."

Almost instinctively, her hand protectively went over her belly. Only three months? Would Severus never meet his third? Gillian eye's followed her motion and asked the most obvious question.

"Are you…?"

Hermione nodded, fighting another bout of tears.

"I'm so sorry. How far along?"

"Fifteen weeks."

"Really? That's farther than I thought. Most witches are showing by then, even through clothing, but I expect you know that."

"Yes, he's—" She stopped. She was about to remark that the little guy was indeed much smaller than both his brothers had been at the same point in her pregnancies, but habit had her stopping, not wanting to reveal that Severus Snape had existing children.

Gillian, sensing her discomfort, backed off. "Have you been to a Healer? For yourself?"

"No. And I don't intend to."

"You're here now. Given that your child's father has had extremely poisonous venom embedded in his system for nearly fourteen years now, I would do an advanced diagnostic of the child if I were you."

"He's completely fine."

"Madame Snape—may I call you Caroline?" Hermione nodded tightly. "I don't mean to deliver bad news on top of bad news, but I wouldn't be surprised if your child is developmentally challenged or even stillborn. Having been conceived so chronologically close to the venom's breaking point, there is—"

"Stop! I'm not hearing this. I'm—" She buried her head in her hands and sobbed.

* * *

"And why is there no discussion about saving him? There are always options. Your Healer sounds like she's ready to let him just die."

Upon hearing the terrible news, Draco and Astoria had insisted that Hermione stay for dinner that night so that she wouldn't have to worry about preparing food for three. They'd even allowed Scorpius, Bryan, and Johnny to eat all on their own at a separate 'kids' table,' an action that made the three young ones feel immensely important. It gave the adults more privacy, so it served its goal.

"Did you really have no idea?" asked Draco. "I know you guys went to a clinic upon discovering the… the problems. What did they tell you?"

"We didn't think it was going to _kill_ him!"

"Draco, you're upsetting her."

"Sorry, Hermione. This is hard for me too."

"St. Mungo's may be the most well-known hospital, but it certainly isn't the only one, especially if we look outside of Britain. Hermione, rest assured that Draco and I won't sit back and let this happen without a fight."

"Even the resources at St. Mungo's are limited. There's bound to be something that they're simply unaware of. We'll do everything we can. The Malfoy name comes with it access to things that lousy hospital could only dream of… Just hang in there."

* * *

The housekeeping had to be done—she floo-called Minerva again to inform her of the updates, and then she put a notice on her bookshop entrance informing patrons that the place would be closed for the next couple of months due to a family emergency.

She thought it would take a lot to get the Healers to agree to take him home, but they surprisingly acquiesced. Draco remarked with disgust that they had given up on him long ago. She privately agreed.

At least the Healers had, in their words, 'tranquilized' Severus, making it so that he could function with hardly any pain. If it weren't for their words, she could almost pretend that he was absolutely fine. As it stood, he was relying on a daily potion to ensure that he could still live mostly like a normal person.

He was noticeably weaker and no longer able to chase after the kids the way he used to. He also spoke slower, though Hermione was already grateful that he was able to still speak at all. He insisted that Hermione didn't need to close the bookshop on his account, but she refused to spend any moment away from him unless necessary.

Despite his earlier refusal, he was carrying Johnny with every opportunity, and the boy was loving every minute of it. He was still too young to understand the gravity of the situation, and for that Hermione was thankful—it had broken her heart when Bryan burst into tears upon learning that his father didn't have much longer left.

For whatever reason, Severus seemed to accept his fate. It angered Hermione that he didn't try harder to stay with herself and the boys, though she was mollified by the fact that he seemed to spend every waking moment around them now. Before, he would have decried that as 'babying.'

Meanwhile, she, Draco, and Astoria were also knee deep in tomes and meetings with foreign wizards in search of a solution. For once in her life, she was glad that neither of the two worked.

Though she had earlier said that Bryan would be remaining in school, the diagnosis of _three months at most_ changed her mind. Muggle primary school had been mostly for the language immersion, and that could be put on the backburner in favor of time that could never be bought back.

"I'll never meet Roman," he said to her one day. She didn't have it in her to playfully bring up 'Julien' like old times. She just couldn't.

"Yes, you will. I just need you to hang in there."

Hang in there he did. The first month passed without incident, so much so that he chanced a day without the Healers' potion to see if they'd been pulling his leg. It didn't go so well. When the tremors started again, he bitterly downed his daily dose.

Fourteen years ago, he would have happily embraced Death as an old friend. In fact, he had never planned on surviving the war. Now though, the stakes were all different. He wanted so badly to _live_ : to see the birth of his third son, to watch his children become adults, and to grow old with Hermione. How cruel that it would be taken away after he was given a taste.

* * *

 **A/N Waiting for this to uplift... happy weekend! One more chappie to go.**


	3. Chapter 3

The days were going by too fast. _Helpless_ was how Hermione felt all the time, especially if it had been a day where she tested another ancient potion or spell to no avail. Increasingly, she found herself sequestered away at Malfoy Manor.

After the initial days of bitter moping around the house, Severus had come around and humored Bryan with his request that they go to a railroad park. Severus himself had never heard of such a thing—evidently, Bryan had picked it up from a classmate at school and was waiting for the right time to ask. All four of them went, and though Hermione enjoyed herself immensely, she could not help but feel guilty at the thought that she'd spent precious time that could've been utilized to find a cure.

With the railroad park as the opener, Severus began taking his boys to more and more spontaneous outings that would've previously taken a lot more convincing. Hermione gently declined each time, and by the third refusal, the ailing man no longer made the effort to floo over to the manor and invite her. It was driving a wedge between the couple.

* * *

It was another month before Hermione found _it._ In a tattered old healing book buried deep within the confines of the Malfoy library, they discovered _the_ spell: _consistit servare._ Rather than treat any injuries outright, it was used to temporarily freeze an open wound as was. From extensive reading, Hermione gathered that it was used in the olden days before more sophisticated spells such as _episkey_ or Severus's _vulnera sanentur_ had been developed to easily heal. Instead of fixing the problem, _consistit servare_ merely delayed the inevitable by not letting the problem become worse, or rather, letting it become worse at a much slower rate. The footnote warned that it wouldn't solve the problem and could only be used once in the victim's life—a second time would be escaping death and lead to ' _unfortunate consequences.'_ She wasn't sure if that was just the tome exercising creative license or a legitimate warning, but she wasn't taking any chances.

There were so many unknown factors, the biggest being not knowing whether it would work or not. Snake venom was nowhere near mentioned in the tome, and even if it were, Nagini was no regular snake. Hermione had no idea how long or short the holdoff would be if it actually did as it said. If it simply gave him an extra week—well, she'd be thankful, but that hardly counted for anything, did it?

"I think you're onto something, Hermione. We can't stop the venom from spreading, we can't remove the venom from his bloodstream without killing him, and we can't give him more of the Healers' potion as the venom has already been weakening its effects. Your spell sounds like it'll do what the potion currently has been doing, and unlike potions, a stronger spell poses no dangers the way ingesting more potion than recommended does."

"Stronger? You mean—"

"Yes. We can all cast it together, making sure that it joins as one before it hits him so that it's not three."

"Also, Astoria, did you have any luck asking around?"

"I didn't find any trained healer who'd even heard of the spell."

Hermione slumped.

"That could very well be a good thing! Think about it this way—if the spell were actually horrible and killed when it intended to treat, don't you think people would've remembered it more than a spell that worked?"

"No, I rather think the opposite."

"That came out wrong, I'm sorry! I only meant—"

"No, it's alright. It's our last hope, isn't it? After all the wrong ends and false leads… We haven't got more time to make sure that this spell works. We just have to assume it does." She wrung her hands.

"Severus's asked me to be godfather," Draco blurted, trying to calm her.

"Without consulting me?" She frowned. It was just another on a growing list of grievances. "No offense, Draco, because I know you'd make a wonderful godfather. Severus and I just haven't been seeing eye to eye lately."

"I told him I'd accept if he really wanted me to, but that Astoria and I would be there for you whether officially a guardian or not. He seemed pretty insistent."

"Was he, now," she muttered, her voice betraying her annoyance.

"Where is he?" Astoria asked. "You mentioned earlier that he was out again."

"Oh, he's taken the boys fishing. Of all things! Yesterday, it was the park. Apparently, they saw a fish jump out of the pond and Bryan asked if they could do the real deal."

"Fishing? Didn't you say that he hated it after he was pants when he went with your father?"

"Yes. Last week, he took them to the carnival and the day before that they went to a farm. The boys think they have the coolest dad right now." She closed the book in her hand, the bitterness threatening to overwhelm her.

"Hermione! You never said. You should be out there with them, not trapped here. You love farms and the countryside!"

"Yeah, and he was even kind enough to bring me back a baby goat."

"No way. Really?"

"Of course not!" Her lips quivered. "He wishes I were out there with him, and I can tell he's upset that I'm not. I wish I were too, obviously, but I can't—I can't sit back and watch him wither away. I don't want to have three months of paradise and regret it for the rest of my life with what-ifs."

No one mentioned their chance of failure and that she could very likely end up regretting not snapping up those three months.

* * *

"Honey, we're home!"

"You've never called me honey before." He looked so out of character, covered in mud up to his waist and wearing fishing gear that looked _so utterly muggle._ The boys were similarly coated in brown. At least it was all dried and unlikely to track on the carpet. She managed to catch Johnny before he could run off and began stripping him of his dirty clothing.

"I'm aware, and it sounded odd on my lips. I was just trying it out. I think I'll stick to your name."

"Catch anything?" she asked casually.

"You would know if you'd been there with us."

"Please don't do this to me."

Unaware of the tension between his parents, Johnny answered. "Daddy catch two! They big." He held up his hands to gesture about their size, except it was undoubtedly exaggerated.

"And the mud?" Though she was looking at her son, she clearly was expecting her husband to answer. In the second of silence, they could hear Bryan's heavy footsteps upstairs.

"We got a boat at first, but all the people who knew what they were doing were standing knee deep in the water. So we did, too."

"How? Johnny is _three._ "

"I'm aware." His voice was distant, and Hermione was cognizantly aware of the fact that he had, for the second time, made it seem that whatever she said was superfluous.

Said boy was squirming in her arms, and she loosened them, letting him go. They watched him run off in just his boxers.

"Well, I'll just—"

"Don't go, Severus." Whether that meant now, or in a couple months… Their eyes met, and his were as equally pained as hers were wet. "I miss you. I need you. I—"

And then his lips were on hers—when had he taken the steps over?—and they were kissing with such ferocity, such need, that she suddenly found her back roughly pushed against the wall. He was tearing at her clothes, and she at his, and she went for his middle in search of a belt to undo until she realized that he was in fishing overalls—how outlandish—

He, as if sensing her unfamiliarity with his outfit, undid his buttons to free his armstraps, and Hermione couldn't even be bothered to yell at him for the dried specks of mud that fell off and stuck onto the floor. There was no foreplay, unless her declaration of need could be counted, and he didn't even move them to the couch nearby. He lifted her up and then cursed loudly, dropping her like hot coal when he didn't have the strength he was accustomed to.

"Shh!" she hissed, not so far gone that she wasn't aware of two small children, awake and currently under the same roof. Flicking her wand out of her sleeve, she cast a quick silencing and disillusionment spell, hoping to Merlin that neither of the two needed her now.

Without being able to hold her up higher, his member poked upwards toward her protruding belly. Emitting a split second of tenderness, he put his hand on where his third son rested while bending his knees to lower himself, all while Hermione strained on her tiptoes until they were in prime position. He thrust, grabbing a handful of her arse to anchor himself before he really went at it, pounding into her with quick, frenzied actions. She whimpered and moaned, though her sounds were overshadowed by his loud groans.

He fucked her like a man who'd never get the chance to do so again, and she clung to him, fucking him like a woman who'd never get the chance to do so again.

* * *

"You've really jostled Julien around now," Hermione joked, her voice still labored as they came off of their high.

"Put on your clothes."

The smile fell of her face. "What?"

He softened. "I heard footsteps, that's all."

Her eyes widened comically, and they dove behind the nearby couch with just enough time to _accio_ their discarded clothing before Bryan strolled in.

"Mum? Mummy! Where are you? I can't find my shirt!"

Hermione slipped on her clothes as quickly as she could before canceling the spells. She popped out from behind the couch, as if that were a normal occurrence. "Which one are you talking about?"

He looked at her oddly. "What are you doing there?" Bryan began walking over, and Hermione frantically glanced at Severus, who was still pulling on his fishing overalls.

"No, don't come over here! I'm—I'm hiding from Daddy."

"Okay. I won't tell him you're here." He continued walking. Severus rolled his eyes at her lack of thinking and easily disillusioned himself.

"Where's Dad?"

"Shhhh. If you speak that loudly, he'll find us!" There was a loud snort behind her.

"Did you hear that, Mum?"

"No. What did you hear?"

"It sounded like Dad."

"I hope it wasn't. That would mean he's nearby, and I don't want him to find me."

Bryan, however, was looking intently at her. "Why are you all sweaty? It's not that hot."

"I'm, erm, just—"

Fortunately, Severus took that moment to walk into the room with Johnny in his arms. Hermione hadn't even heard him leave his spot from behind the couch. He must have silently apparated. She could see that he'd misaligned his side buttons in his haste to get dressed, and it make her chuckle softly. She quickly put her finger to her lips, saving her from answering Bryan. Together, they watched as the man pretended to pace.

"Now, Johnny, do you have any idea where Mummy could be?"

The little boy strained his neck. "Behind the curtain?"

"Let's check." They went toward the curtain, and Severus let Johnny do the honors. He eagerly flung open the curtains and was disappointed to not find his mother.

"She not there." He frowned.

" _She's_ not there," he corrected. "What about behind that couch? Do you want to check there?"

"Mum, hide us!" Bryan whispered. "They're going to find us!"

"I can't do that. That's cheating."

"Found her!" Johnny shouted. "Bryan there too!"

"You found her indeed. Good job." This time, Hermione had to hide a snort.

* * *

Hermione told him about the spell that night, but it didn't seem to affect Severus all that much. She knew it was because he didn't want to hold out hope and become disappointed. The last three experiments had, after all, been useless.

"I really think it'll work, Severus. Or rather, I'm trying my best to not think about what would happen if it didn't." Unconsciously, she leaned closer into him.

He was silent.

"Severus?"

"If it doesn't work, you're naming him Roman."

"I'm not doing anything on my own. _We're_ doing this."

"I said if it _doesn't_ work. I'm not going to be there for his birth, aren't I?"

"Severus."

He looked at her, his expression tight.

"I don't hate the name Roman as much as I seem. I did at first, but it's really grown on me. I still bring up ' _Julien_ ' just because I like the verbal spar that follows."

There was a brief silence as Severus stared at her in astonishment. "Are you telling me that I didn't have to worry about him being named Julien for the last couple months?"

"Do you hate that name so much?"

"I don't like your adoration of that book character," he admitted gruffly. "And it sounds too close to Johnny. Just listen to it. Bryan, Johnny, and Julien. Johnny and Julien sound like twins, though I wouldn't have liked it even if they were."

"We wouldn't have this problem if we hadn't nicknamed him," she pointed out. "Bryan, Sydney, and Julien."

"You mean Bryan, Sydney John, and Julien. See? We would've had to have nicknamed him. He stands out like a sore thumb with a double name."

"I hate when you're right."

"If this new spell of yours works, you can have your Julien. It'll be my punishment for not believing in you. I'll suffer with it for the rest of my existence. Deal?"

"Now wait a second. Don't be like that! I just said that I didn't hate the idea of naming him Roman. This is where you push your luck."

"Push my luck? You mean?" He sat up, looking at her intently.

"Yeah. Ask."

She had decided weeks ago that she honestly wouldn't mind naming him Roman, and after making that decision, she had been growing more and more fond of the idea. 'Roman' wasn't just any adjective, after all. 'Italian' sounded ridiculous, but Roman? Less so. She would have told Severus earlier, but they'd been cross with each other lately.

"Can we name him Roman whether your latest experiment works or not?" He paused. "That is the question you want me to ask, right?"

"Yes, you silly old man!"

"Yes, as in yes that is the question, or yes, as in we're naming him Roman?"

"Well, that depends."

"On?"

"On whether you're willing to get me that baby goat."

"What baby goat? What are you talking about?"

"You went to a farm without me! You know how much I love farms."

"Oh." He looked properly chastised. "I can't get you a goat, though. They're not up for grabs. Even if I did manage to steal one, how would we raise it here?"

"It was a symbol, you dolt! Will you take the boys to the farm again, but this time, without leaving me behind?"

In response, Severus smiled widely and lifted up the covers. "Hi, Roman. Daddy saved you from a horrible name."

Hermione lightly slapped his shoulder as she burrowed into his warm chest. "I ought to thank Nagini for making you _so_ out of character."

* * *

 _ **SIX MONTHS LATER**_

"And then Berthold said—"

"You really have someone in your class named _Berthold_?"

"No, that's just what we call him. His real name is Jonas. Mum, you're interrupting the story! Stop making faces at Roman and look at me!"

"Sorry, sorry! What did Berthold say?" She didn't even bother asking how the kids in his class got _Berthold_ out of _Jonas._

"He said _Hausaufgaben!_ " He waited for his parents to laugh, but neither did. "Mum? Dad? Why aren't you laughing? It's funny!"

"Can you tell the joke again? I might have missed it."

"You were too busy staring at Roman," Bryan complained. "He doesn't even know what you're saying to him!"

"Just tell it again. We'll listen this time, I promise."

"I'm going to get Johnny. He listens better than you two these days." He angrily hopped off his seat at the kitchen table to fetch Johnny, who was pushing a toy train back and forth on the couch in the next room. "Hey! That's my train!"

"Bryan!" Hermione hollered from where she was, making sure to cover Roman's little eardrums first. "What did I say about sharing?"

There was no response, but the two came in, with the younger being dragged none too gently by the elder. Though no one prompted him to, Bryan started retelling the story.

"So Frau Kremer said, 'Was erhaltet ihr vom Huhn?' And we said _Eier._ Then she said, 'Was erhaltet ihr von der Kuh?' And we said _Milch._ But when she said, ' _Was erhaltet ihr von dem Schwein?_ ', Berthold answered _Hausaufgaben_ before anyone else said anything. I just about died!"

Hermione and Severus both cracked a smile, having heard that one before, though not from Bryan. "Serves her right," she laughed. "What was she expecting the answer to be? Bacon?"

"Methinks she was trying to see if any of her students knew the joke," Severus whispered to her. "No schoolteacher is that thick. That's just asking to be made fun of."

* * *

Raising a two-month old could be hard, but it was made much easier by the fact that both Severus and Hermione were at home, the latter having closed her bookshop again to go on maternity leave after just reopening it months ago. Still, Astoria insisted that she and Draco could watch over the kids while the couple enjoyed some off-time. Hermione had hesitated, citing Astoria's condition and saying that her own parents would be happy to do it, but she lost the battle.

That was how she found herself sipping on a dry martini—in broad daylight—with Severus, at a local restaurant.

"More proof that money doesn't buy taste. I'd take my Taylor Lake over this anytime."

"There's just more—more _pizazz_ in saying 'I sipped on a dry martini' over 'I sipped on a Taylor Lake.' I get a vision of myself face down over a lake and engulfing it dry."

"You are one odd witch."

"Anytime." She beamed at him. "Did you hear? They've named her Aquila. She's still months from being born, of course, but still. Reckon we can pull up a marriage contract between her and Roman?"

"Her own godbrother?"

"Good point. Nevermind."

"If he's anything like me, then Draco would punch you a new one for suggesting anything of the sort for his little girl."

"One, Draco would never 'punch me a new one,' and two, you don't have a little girl."

"I have boys. I'd do the same to any girl who looks at my boys."

"What, you'd punch them? You're really in for it. Bryan told me just the other day about this girl who stepped on his foot because he pulled her hair. It's just beginning. I better not lose you to the authorities for beating up a young girl."

Severus glanced at his wife for just a second too long, and it caused him to dissolve into guffaws.

"Eyes up, mister."

"It's not that. It's your necklace. I can't take you seriously with it. Somehow I've gotten used to the sight of it around your neck, but it still never fails to humor me."

She was stopped short from retorting by a middle-aged woman who hesitantly hovered by their table.

"Hermione?"

She tried to place the woman, feeling sure that she'd seen her somewhere. The fact that _Granger_ was not included relaxed her somewhat, but she still surreptitiously felt for her wand underneath her holster. "You look familiar. Where do I know you from, could you remind me, sorry?"

"Oh, gosh, I wasn't sure if I was just making things up! I only know your first name. I'm Elsie, Elsie Harrow. I'm on holiday, but I'm from Yorkshire—you know, where your bookstore is. I almost couldn't believe that you were here too!"

"Oh! Yes, I remember you! You got that book on Churchill, right? Along with a crocheting manual?"

"Goodness, you have a good memory! I just wanted to say hello and tell you that you look wonderful for someone on maternity leave. My husband was just telling me the other day how odd he found it for a small business owner to take such an extended break, but I think it's wonderful, spending those first few months with your baby."

"We are very thankful that it's an option," Severus put in diplomatically.

"Your husband?"

Hermione nodded, and Elsie stuck out her hand. "It's so nice to meet you. I've seen your children with your wife while I was in and I have often wondered whether they took after you or her more. Lovely babes."

Severus nodded, giving her an amused look and unknowingly backing away from her exuberant character.

"I was ever so put out when I read the sign about the family emergency," she continued. "My condolences to whomever it was that passed away."

Severus and Hermione shared a look. "Thank you. They're appreciated," he said before she could answer with something else.

"Elsie? There you are! I've been looking all around for you."

Elsie turned and waved the man over, presumably her husband. "Jack, you'll never guess who I bumped into!"

"Yes, well, let's get back to our table, alright? You've had a lot to drink." He put a hand on her shoulder and silently mouthed _I'm sorry_ to Hermione and Severus.

 _You're fine, you're fine,_ Hermione mouthed back politely, flourishing it with a smile.

When she was out of sight, Hermione started giggling. "She never struck me as the talkative sort. I don't think I've ever heard her talk before today, actually."

"I bet she'll think we're horrible parents once she sets her mind to it. Just think about it—she believes we're from Yorkshire, which is only logical, and she knows you're on maternity leave. And yet, just two months later, you're spotted having a romantic afternoon with your husband all the way in Germany, sans baby?"

"And do family emergencies usually mean a death?"

"Beats me. I never had one."

"Well, I'm glad you're not dead."

Severus raised a brow at her blunt word choice. "Thank Merlin you think so. I'd hate to think the opposite." He gingerly touched his neck, the memories of the past months all a whirlwind. _Consistit servare_ had done what it claimed to do, if not better. With the power of three casters, it really had frozen any sort of further harmful diffusion in his neck, though neither knew for how long. The Healers had scoffed openly at the unheard-of spell, only to gape when the results spoke for themselves. All diagnostics claimed that he was no longer at risk, and though the family never stopped looking into other methods to keep Severus safe, their sense of stability was strengthened as the years went on.

And so Severus Snape gratefully returned to his private, domestic existence with his family while the public could only continue to speculate as to why two famous war heroes opted to retreat from the public eye all those years ago, never once considering that their withdrawal was connected. It had already been fourteen years since the war, and the press had gotten tired of writing non-story after non-story, slowly phasing the past out in favor of newer gossip—just the way Hermione and Severus preferred. It would be another four years before one Bryan Snape reignited the flame upon the Sorting Hat's loud calling of his name.

But a lot could happen in four years.

Or nine.

* * *

 **Whew! As I said, less plot and more filling-in. Can't wait to hear your thoughts, and I'd love to know if there are any other questions / oneshots / short stories you guys would be interested in! I already have some ideas ;)**

 **As for the joke Bryan was telling his parents:**

 **"So Mrs. Kremer said, 'What do you get from chickens?' And we said _eggs._ Then she said, 'What do you get from cows?' And we said _milk._ But when she said, 'What do you get from pigs?' Berthold answered _homework_ before anyone else said anything."**

 **It's funnier in German, though, because _Schwein_ for pig is also an insulting word for humans (differently than it is in English).**

 **See y'all tomorrow for the FaF update! xxx**


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